2020 saw a massive revolution in the world of public relations in Poland. The Covid-19 pandemic made a well-functioning, well-oiled Polish PR department invaluable – especially when sales communication became more focused on dialogue with recipients, and in addition, fully transferred to the online world. In 2021, the importance of PR in Poland will not diminish, and moreover, it is preparing a lot of challenges for companies. What will be worth implementing into your PR activities in the coming year to better adapt to the changing reality?

Table of contents:

  • Brand authenticity on the web
  • Socially important matters
  • Learning to play the field
  • Conversational PR
  • Searching for niches
  • New audiences on the Internet
  • Data measurement and analytics
  • Reorganisation of internal communication

Brand authenticity on the web

2021 will most likely be the final farewell to the ubiquitous artificiality and inauthenticity of social media. Due to the pandemic and the lockdowns, Poles who stayed at home began to be more natural and… expected the same from brands. Photo retouching and the promotion of an artificially perfect life are increasingly ridiculed. Instagram influencers are starting to talk about the body positive movement, showing their bodies without practiced poses, but with all natural imperfections. This trend will be a breath of fresh air this year and will entail many brands. Already, more and more often, we can see advertisements where models presenting bathing suits have stretch marks. And this is just the beginning!

Socially important matters

Triny brand post informing about support for the Women’s Strike
Source: https://www.facebook.com/trinysklep/photos/2166215460175938

In the previous year, a particularly unique trend materialised in the Polish network – the growing involvement of brands in political and social topics. Many brands, which direct their communication to women, did not avoid the topic of the Women’s Strike, famous all over the country, and openly presented symbols of the strike on their social media. Abroad, a similar trend was seen on the occasion of Black Lives Matter. Of course, this does not mean that all brands should be politically involved, but customers slowly stop being guided only by logos or prices when shopping. Instead, they pay attention to whether the overall brand message resonates with their views.

Learning to play the field

Flexibility is one of those skills that were exceptionally valued in Polish PR last year. Hardly anyone was able to predict what would happen in a day let alone a week… Quick transfers of budgets, campaign concept changes, and sending messages to clients – everything had to be done on the spot. 2020 has clearly shown that in the world of Polish PR it is not just mastering theory that counts, but good intuition. What’s more, in the sea of new image campaigns (because in times of crisis, the sales attitude simply does not pay off), you need to awaken your dormant creativity. Either they see you, or you die.

Conversational PR

Treating your audience as people – this is how one sentence could shorten the whole essence of conversational PR in Poland. If in 2020 you did not revolutionise your communication with clients by humanising direct communication, e.g. in social media where simple honesty has become wildly appreciated, it’s time to do so in 2021.

Searching for niches

Not ‘fun fact’ – almost all of your competition has already moved to the Internet, and has made it a bit over stuffed. There is not enough space for everyone; only those who see solutions instead of obstacles remain. One such PR solution for 2021 may be a small narrowing of your target group by better matching your communication to a specific niche. New platforms come with help – check if someone in your industry is already doing a podcast or YouTube channel with expert interviews. Look for a path for yourself where it is still empty, and some of your target group will appreciate it.

“Vintage Department” podcast by ELLE Polska
Source: https://open.spotify.com/show/1S3qpvDNbLhkOjKDc3ZQAe

New audiences on the Internet

Although it sometimes seems to us that there is everything and everyone on the Internet, many Polish PR specialists have been overlooking clients of the older generation for years. The nationwide lockdowns meant that they, too, had to transfer their lives to the online world to a large extent – often without the slightest clue about it. Older people learn to communicate on the Internet completely from the beginning. It is worth being aware of this and (if this group also belongs to your clients) to help them better understand your business on the Internet. All sorts of guides on how to buy, how to navigate the site, clear layouts, simple messages in social media, advertisements aimed at the oldest clientele – everything that is a manifestation of such an initiative will be appreciated.

Data measurement and analytics

Due to cuts in PR budgets in Poland, measuring and analysing the available data turned out to be more important than ever. The year 2020 has clearly shown that in the world of public relations you have to measure absolutely everything that will allow us to save at least a little. ICCO’s latest global PR report clearly indicates that measurement and data analytics will be the key skills of any employee in this industry for the next decade (more than creativity!). The importance of technologies related to automation and data science is also growing. Therefore, it will be worth taking a look at the existing tools that allow Polish PR people to measure, for example, customer opinions.

Future talent and relevant skill sets –  ICCO 2020-2021
Source: https://zfpr.pl/world-pr-report-2020-2021/

Reorganisation of internal communication

In 2021, the revolution, including internal public relations in Poland, will continue. Quickly developing effective ways to communicate with employees and controlling their activities remotely has become one of the most important challenges for internal PR companies. Here the emphasis is on technology: communication calendars, efficient programmes for organising online conferences, tools facilitating work organisation – everything that improves the information flow process within departments. In addition, in 2021 the role of selecting and completely training leaders or team managers who will be able to properly manage a team from a distance will also increase. It is worth remembering that communication with employees will not go back to the times before the pandemic, so it is better to optimise this process in advance.

As you can see, 2021 will be harvesting the harvest after the PR revolution that surprised us in 2020. Both internal and external communication will be focused not only on online, but also on dialogue. The more natural, simpler and faster, the better. If you are looking for a Polish public relations agency that will help you implement new solutions or tools in your activities, please contact us. We know how to do Polish PR well!

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